Beginning of the End - Side Stories
by ceredonia
Summary: A continuation of the original story "Beginning of the End" (just finished, also on this site). Focuses on back stories and other events for characters/relationships from the other story.
1. Chapter 1

**Story #1: That Fateful Night**

"Hey, can I get a whiskey?" York asked, trying to get the bartender's attention, a tall, burly man who was focused solely on the gaggle of young women at the other end of the bar, obviously in the middle of a bachelorette party, judging by the tiara on the brunette in the miniskirt. He'd been trying for at _least_ three minutes with no success, even after he'd unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt in an attempt to woo the female bartender cleaning glasses at the other end. "Oh, come _on_," he nearly shouted as he watched the man started pouring drinks for another girl right next to him, ignoring him completely. "I just want a goddamn _drink_; it's not_ that_ much to ask."

"Here, have mine," a man to his left said, sliding him a glass. He looked from it to him and back to the drink again, seriously debating just taking it.

"Nah, I'll fucking _wait_, I've waited long enough, another five minutes won't kill me," he grumbled.

"Sounds like you've waited long enough," the man said, gesturing to the drink. "Don't worry; it's not poisoned or anything."

"Isn't that what you _would_ say if it _was_ poisoned?" York said with a laugh.

"No, really, my girlfriend got it for me just now. She's the only reason I can ever get a drink in this place," he replied, smiling. "I'll just have her get me another one when she gets back from the bathroom."

"Well, if you're sure. Here." York pulled a five dollar bill out of his pocket and set it on the counter, picking up the glass. Tipping it back, he soon figured out it was scotch, not whiskey, but anything was good at that moment. Setting the glass back down, he licked his lips and nodded approvingly. It was definitely better than the two beers he'd had at the last bar.

"Good shit, huh?"

"Yeah, actually. Not normally a scotch guy, whiskey's more my style, but it's good."

"Top shelf, man. Only reason to even drink scotch."

"Oh, shit, I should give you more than five bucks then." York started digging in his pockets for more cash, but the man reached out, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. Just got out?" he asked, pointing to his own eye. York nodded, used to people asking questions about the large scar that covered his left eye.

"Yeah, just blowing off some steam."

"Awesome! Hey, are those your friends?" He pointed to North and Wash, who were waving from the base of the stairs leading up to the dance floor where most of the girls were at that point in the night.

"Oh, yeah. They're probably wondering where I've been. Hey, have a good night, and thanks again." York shook hands with the man and grabbed the drink, walking over to them. He stumbled slightly, righting himself as he reached his friends.

"God, _finally_, where did you go?" North complained. "You left me up there with Wash, who can't dance to save his life. It's worse than at the last place."

"Fuck you!" Wash hollered above the music, shaking his head as he walked back upstairs. York grinned and took another sip of the scotch, following North upstairs to find Wash.

He'd just gotten out of the Army and still had his bags in the trunk of North's car. The three of them had met up at the bar as soon as North picked him up from the airport and called Wash. He still didn't really know the guy all that well; North and Wash had been childhood buddies and he'd only met him over winter break during sophomore year of college. He seemed pretty cool, but York still had to get to know him outside of a few visits during their college years.

He spotted Wash dancing in the corner with a tall brunette girl and smiled, biting his cheek to avoid making fun of the guy's dancing skills, or lack thereof. North was grabbing his hand a second later, pulling him towards the side to inspect the crowd.

"See anyone?" he yelled over the music, which seemed to be getting louder as they stood there. York shook his head, sighing.

"I just flew like ten hours straight, I'm not really in the mood to pick up girls," he yelled back. North scrunched up his face and kept looking.

"Guys, then?"

"_Dude_."

North held up his hands in defeat as he grinned. York rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs, catching a glimpse of someone rushing upwards towards him, a shock of red hair burning itself into his retinas underneath the fluorescent lights overhead. He instinctively opened his mouth to say a pick-up line but no words came out of his mouth as she brushed past him with a faint 'sorry,' not even making eye contact. She wove her way through the crowd, obviously scanning for someone she knew, and stopped at the other stairway leading back downstairs. Glancing around once more, she headed downstairs and he pushed his way to the glass wall overlooking the downstairs seating area, searching for the girl. He finally spotted her sitting at a table with a girl with brunette hair and another girl with short, jagged blonde hair, reaching out to grab a shot sitting in the middle of the table.

"Hey!" A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, turning to see Wash standing next to him, looking exhausted.

"Where's your date?"

"Ditched me," he shouted over the music. "What's up?"

"Her," York replied, pointing downstairs at the redhead. Wash followed his line of sight and nodded approvingly.

"Go talk to her!"

"I…" York shook his head. "It's been too long," he shouted. "Can't."

"Bullshit!" Wash grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the front stairway, pushing him down the stairs. York nearly tripped on a middle step and caught himself on the railing, glaring behind him at Wash, who just shrugged. Finally they made it downstairs and almost to the table where the three girls were sitting, but at the last second York veered away and ducked down into the sunken bar area.

"Go away!" he told Wash, frowning. "I can do this on my own." He finished his scotch and set the glass on a nearby empty counter.

"You're not drunk enough," Wash replied, laughing. "Gotta get your spirits up, in more ways than one." He ran over to the bar and somehow managed to score three beers, carrying them back over a few minutes later. York was still keeping an eye on the girl, watching her take more shots with her friends, yelling about it being her birthday. The brunette got up and walked away, coming down to the bar, leaning over the railing to get the bartender's attention with her low-cut dress. York grabbed one of the beers from Wash and downed it quickly, feeling the alcohol from the previous bar clouding his head.

"Slow down," he heard North saying from behind him as he grabbed a second beer from the table, chugging half of it.

"He found a girl he wants to talk to," Wash explained, gesturing up to the redhead. York kicked him underneath the table and he winced.

"Well, it's not going to be attractive to be super drunk in front of her," North scolded, grabbing the beer away from him. "Wash, why don't you help him out?"

"I'll be your wingman!" Wash shouted, slapping York on the back. The three of them looked up towards the girls and saw that they were gone. York's eyes widened and he jumped up from the stool he'd been sitting on, looking around.

"Where did she go?" he yelled over the music, frowning.

"Maybe they left, I'll go check," Wash hollered, pushing his way towards the entrance of the club. North grabbed York by the shoulder and they followed, trying to fight the flow of the crowd making its way towards the bar.

As they neared the door York doubled over, a sudden queasy feeling filling his head and stomach both at the same time. He felt North's hands on his back, trying to get him out of the line of foot traffic, and a moment later he was leaning against a wall, trying to catch his breath.

"_Told_ you to slow down," he heard North lecturing. He scowled and stood up, blinking a few times to clear the haze in his vision.

"I'm good," he said, shaking his head. North's arm was around him seconds later and he leaned into him, grateful for the support. Finally they made it outside and he fought back the urge to throw up as fresh air hit his lungs.

"God _dammit_, Wash, we leave you alone for five minutes and you're already hitting on strangers?" he heard North say as he staggered away and found a lamppost to lean against. He caught a glimpse of the redhead standing near Wash as North walked over to them.

"You're incorrigible," York slurred, shaking his head. The feeling was building in his stomach as he focused on a strange stain on the cement.

"Whoa, who's been teaching _you_ the _big words_?" Wash teased from nearby.

"Shut the fuck up, I know words too," he muttered.

"Hey now, come on. We're celebrating your release from that hellhole known as the Army, so be nice to us or we won't buy you any more drinks."

The mention of drinks made York's stomach churn suddenly. "I think I'm good."

"Is he going to be okay?" the girl asked, stepping forward. He kept his face turned away, trying to hide the scar. Fucking Army training gone wrong; not bad enough for a discharge, just enough to keep him in the hospital for a month.

"This asshole? He's gonna be _just fine_," North replied, roughly slapping him on the back. York groaned but North ignored him. "Hey, nice to meet you by the way."

"Oh, sorry! This is…Lina," he heard Wash say. "Lina, this is North." York rolled his eyes, annoyed that he'd introduced North before him. Wasn't Wash supposed to be _his_ wingman, not North's?

"North?"

Her voice was _beautiful_. York wanted to say something but couldn't think straight, just wanted her to keep talking. And she was so _pretty_, reaching up to brush her crimson hair away from her cheek… He took a chance to look at her and saw that her eyes were green, sparkling underneath the lamppost's light, before he turned away again to hide his face.

"Yeah, my parents were from Canada, so people thought it was funny to call me North because of the Great North. Just…whatever, it stuck." _Ugh_, North had a few stories for the origin of his nickname and York still didn't know which one was true. It was one truth that never came out during their drinking games in college.

"Aw, that's cute!"

York resisted the urge to make a snarky comment, feeling his stomach begin to do its telltale rolling that signaled he was probably going to be sick.

"Cute nickname for a cute guy, right?" he heard North say. He wanted to punch him but it was too late—

York doubled over and retched, emptying the entirety of his alcohol-filled stomach onto the street beside them. He collapsed to his knees, coughing and gagging as he felt someone kneel down beside him, patting his back.

"Man, I bet _that_ felt good." _Wash_. Well, at least that got him to stop flirting with her…

"Shut up," York coughed out, leaning over further to vomit some more.

"Looks like he's not quite up to par these days, huh?" North said.

"Dude, he was in the Army, doesn't that usually make people super _good_ at drinking?" Wash replied, still rubbing his back.

York opened his mouth to either argue or vomit again, but heard Lina say, "Uh, I've gotta go find my friends, are you guys okay here on your own?"

"Well, aren't you sweet? Of course I'll be fine," North replied. York wanted to kick him.

"Uh, I was more worried about _that _one," she said, probably meaning him. "But good to know."

York waited as he listened to them say goodbye, staring at the strange spot on the ground again as his head swam. He realized she was leaving and raised his head slightly, frowning. He caught a glimpse of a newspaper lying on the ground and reached for it, trying to wipe his mouth on a clean part.

"Yeah, fine, no goodbyes for me," he muttered from the curb. "I'm good, whatever, no one cares."

"Drink some water," he heard her say. "Have a good night!"

"Night, Lina!" North called out, waving back. Wash's arms encircled York's shoulders and helped him to his feet, and York let out a groan.

"_Fuck_," York swore, dropping the newspaper back to the ground. "I fucked that up, didn't I?"

"Don't worry about it," Wash reassured. "Maybe you'll run into her again?"

"Los Angeles is sort of big," North said. "I highly doubt it."

"Way to help, North."

"Sorry! I mean, I bet you _will_ see her again. At least you know her name and what she looks like?"

York sighed and stumbled away, finding a bench outside of the club to fall on. "Shit, she was so pretty too," he mumbled, waving his hands in the air. "There was this, you know…_connection_ between us. I could tell. Before I even talked to her."

"_Did_ you even talk to her?" Wash asked, raising an eyebrow. "If I recall, _North _and I did most of the talking…"

"Shut up," York growled, leaning over to gag a little bit. He clutched his stomach as North sat down next to him, sighing.

"Let's get you home," he said, putting his arm around him. York nodded and leaned into him again, closing his eyes. He could see her in his mind, her beautiful red hair curling just under her chin, bright green eyes sparkling as she smiled at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Story #2: The Intervention of Mr. Flowers**

"Hey, Butch, you got a second?"

He looked up from his desk and nodded, the permanent smile stretched across his face. One of his fellow teachers was standing a few feet away, wringing his hands nervously. "Yeah, what's up?"

"You know David, in your class? Tiny blonde kid?"

"Oh, of course! That little whippersnapper. Is something wrong?"

The other teacher hesitated for a moment. "Not particularly…I've just noticed he's been really quiet lately, usually reading by himself on the playground, eating alone at lunch, things like that. Do you know what happened? He used to be so outgoing."

Butch nodded. "His father has been sick lately. His mother came in to talk to me at the end of the school year last year; he should be fine, but it's been taking a toll on the kid."

"Oh, damn. I'm sorry." The other man frowned. "I'm still sort of new here, I didn't know—"

"I didn't tell anyone," he replied, nodding. "Don't worry about it."

"Well, I was just wondering if you had any ideas on how to maybe cheer him up? I don't know, I'm not great with the younger kids—that's why I teach sixth grade."

"And _that's_ why _I_ teach second grade," Butch teased. "I'll see what I can do, all right?"

"Great. I'll see you at lunch," he said, smiling. "And thanks." He ducked out of the room as Butch leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head, glancing out the large window to his right. The kids were out at recess and he had been taking the opportunity to catch up on balancing his checkbook. He stood up and walked over to the window, scanning the playground for the child in question, and sure enough, he saw the fair-haired boy sitting near the swing set, a book in hand. Butch sighed and went back to his desk, tucking his checkbook away into the top drawer, and grabbed his room key, locking the classroom door behind him as he left.

As he approached the swing set, his smile widened, seeing that he was reading what could easily be considered a fifth-grade level book. "David?"

The boy looked up, startled, and smiled up at him. "Hi, Mr. Flowers!"

"What are you up to?"

"I'm reading. It's really good." He held up the book so Butch could see the title. "Have you read it?"

"I don't believe I have. So, David, why aren't you playing with the other kids?"

David shrugged. "Don't wanna."

"Why not?"

"They're stupid."

"_All_ of them are stupid?" Butch chuckled. "I highly doubt that."

"They are! They all listen to Jake and he told them not to play with me because I've got cooties." David's face scrunched up a little as though he were trying to fight back tears.

"Well, that's just ridiculous. You know that, right?"

"I _know_. I tried to talk to Stephanie but she just ran away from me. That's why I'm reading by myself."

Butch thought for a moment. "Is there anyone you _want_ to play with?"

David shrugged, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I dunno. Not Jake. Do I have to—"

"I won't make you talk to him. To be honest, I think he's mean too," he said in a loud whisper.

"Really?" He looked up, smiling. "Um, Mr. Flowers?"

"Yes?"

"Are you married?"

Butch shook his head. "No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered. You always seem so happy, like my dad, and he said he's always happy because of my mom because she's so pretty and nice. So I thought maybe that's why _you're_ always so happy."

His logic made a sort of sense. "I just like being happy," Butch replied, laughing a little. "I'm glad your parents are so happy though."

"Me too." David nodded firmly. "My mom and dad are the best."

"They certainly are." Butch checked his watch. "Recess is over soon; I'll let you get back to your book. Will you try to play with the others tomorrow?"

David shrugged. "Do I _have_ to?"

"No, but it would make me happy."

He sighed dramatically. "I _guess_."

"I'll see you in class," Butch said, waving as he walked away. He glanced back a moment later and saw the kid buried in his book again and chuckled. Looking at the opposite end of the playground, he saw a small group of kids gathered around something and decided to check it out.

"And now, for my next trick, I'm going to make this rock disappear!"

Three girls and four boys ranging from first to fifth grade were standing around a kid with bright blonde hair who he recognized as the new kid in class, John. He had a rock in one hand and was wearing a newspaper on his head that he'd seemed to have fashioned into a sort of hat, probably trying to look professional, clashing with his bright green and purple hoodie.

"Just do it!" one of the older kids complained, his arms folded stubbornly across his chest.

John grinned and did a little bow. He held up a small rock on the palm of his right hand, showing it to the crowd. Then he closed his hand around the rock, put both of his hands together, and did a little dance, bouncing to some imaginary beat. He brought his hands up over his head, parted them a little, and then smashed them back together, bringing them down a second later, hands wide open, palms empty.

"Ta-da!" he shouted, laughing. "Magic!"

"He dropped the rock in the hat," one of the girls said, rolling her eyes. John smiled at her.

"You think you figured it out?"

"I _saw_ you drop it!"

He reached up and plucked the hat off his head, unfolding it. As he did so, the kids started cheering, realizing she was wrong. The girl stalked off and the others followed, leaving John standing there with the biggest grin on his face. Butch approached him, clapping quietly as he put the refolded hat back on his head and readjusted his hoodie, playing with the hood.

"That's some _real_ magic there," he said.

"Oh! Hi, Mr. Flowers!" John did a little bow. "You wanna know how I did it?" he asked excitedly, jumping up and down a little.

"No, keep the magic safe," he replied as he laughed. "I just wanted to ask you something. Do you know David?"

"Who?" Butch pointed across the playground to where David was still reading, focusing intensely on the pages. "Oh, him!" John nodded. "Yeah, he's nice."

"Have you two played together?"

"Not really."

"Do you think you could go say hi to him?"

John nodded again. "Sure!"

Butch put a hand on the boy's back and led him over to David, who looked up from his book when John blocked the sun on the page, covering it with his shadow. "Hi, Mr. Flowers," he said quietly, looking upset.

"Is everything okay?" Butch asked, kneeling down next to him.

"My book got sad." He set the book down and looked at John. "Hi."

"Hi," John said, suddenly looking shy. Butch smiled widely and stood up, urging David to his feet.

"David, this is John. John, this is David."

"Hi," David said again. "I like your hat."

"Thanks!"

Butch looked down at the two of them for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, I've got to get back to the classroom. John, why don't you show David your magic trick?"

"Okay!" John dug in his pocket for the small rock and held it up. "See, this is a regular rock…"

Butch walked away back towards the building and glanced back a minute later, seeing John holding his hands above his head, while David watched, engrossed in the spectacle. He saw the rock fall quickly from his hands and into his hood. Laughing at the 'magic,' he shook his head and went inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Story #3: What good is college if you can't drive your roommate crazy?**

_August, 2002_

North stepped back from his bed and nodded approvingly, tilting his head just slightly to make sure his posters were lined up with the top edges straight. Seemingly perfect, he walked over to his desk and sat down, flipping through the songs on the CD player to go back to the beginning of the CD.

Checking his watch, he frowned. Wasn't his roommate supposed to be there by now? He could hear the chatter of other excited students even through the closed door. The names on the door had read "John" and "Sean," which first prompted an eyebrow raise at the similar sounds, likely through coincidence. He didn't even know the guy's last name, but he supposed it didn't really matter.

"_College_!" someone yelled as the door swung open, revealing a young man with sandy brown hair, wearing a yellow t-shirt with some sort of sports logo on it; North was terrible with sports, likely because he just didn't care. He threw a duffel bag onto the empty bed on the other side of the room and turned to look at North, a wide grin on his face, sticking his hands on his hips to strike a triumphant pose.

"Hey," North greeted, repressing a laugh.

"Fucking _college_, man!" the kid said happily. "We _made_ it!"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose we did." North stood up and stuck his hand out. "I'm John, but I go by North. You must be Sean?"

"Yup!" They shook hands and North finally smiled.

"So, where's the rest of your stuff?"

"Oh, _shit_!" Sean took off and ran outside, leaving North shaking his head.

* * *

"I'm glad no one stole your stuff," North said as he helped Sean unpack one of the suitcases. Sean laughed and put a shirt on a hanger, stuffing it into the tiny closet.

"My stuff's mostly clothes, I don't think anyone wants any of it."

"You'd be surprised, I've heard horror stories of all sorts of things going missing in the dorms," North mused. "I heard someone even had their goldfish stolen, right out of the bowl."

"People are crazy," Sean said with a laugh. "I'm not worried, I don't even _have_ a goldfish."

"Well, the point still stands."

"So, you want to go explore the city tonight?" he asked.

North shrugged. "I kind of wanted to get to sleep early, since classes start tomorrow."

"_Please_ don't tell me I got saddled with a lame, boring roommate who _studies_."

"I'm not _lame_!" North shouted.

"I beg to differ, based on what you just said."

"You want to go out? Fine, we'll go out." He dropped the lid to the suitcase and stalked over to his own desk, grabbing his wallet and room key. "Come on, let's go!"

"_Awesome_! To _adventure_!" Sean shouted, grabbing his arm to drag him out into the hallway, pointing ahead of them, leaving his half of the room a gigantic mess.

* * *

_October, 2002_

"Sean! We can't _do_ anything here!"

"Sure we can, he won't even hear us. He has his headphones in."

"Well…if you're _sure_…"

North rolled his eyes as he flipped over in bed, facing the wall. The lights were off and he'd just been woken up by Sean and some girl stumbling into the room, nearly tripping over a pile of clothes that North had been yelling at Sean to take to the laundry room for days. He wanted to get out of bed and yell at them, but was afraid he'd see something he could never be unseen.

Sounds of passionate making-out were entirely too loud in the small room and North cranked up the volume on his portable CD player, trying to drown out the noise. After about ten minutes the sounds quieted down just slightly and he sighed, hoping they'd gone to sleep, and dared to turn over in bed, only to see a faint outline of someone standing next to the bed, digging in a drawer. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and realized it was Sean, standing completely naked right in front of him, furiously trying to tear open a condom package.

"_Dude_!"

Sean froze at the interruption as the girl shrieked, holding a sheet up over her chest, but unfortunately not before North got a good look at her breasts. "I thought you were _asleep_—"

North threw off the blanket, luckily wearing flannel sleeping pants and a t-shirt, and grabbed his room key and wallet, storming out of the room as Sean tried to calm the girl down.

* * *

_November, 2002_

Sean was _insufferable_, North was quickly finding out.

If it wasn't inviting girls over to make out while he was there, it was playing his music so loudly that North couldn't focus on homework. If he wasn't leaving his clothes all over the room, it was that he kept leaving their door unlocked, resulting in North's CD player being stolen.

The last straw was just before Thanksgiving break, when North was packing for the trip back home to see his family. Sean was sitting on his bed, scratching out statistics problems, complaining that he didn't understand most of it. Someone knocked on the door and North went over to open it, finding one of his classmates standing in the hallway, clutching a packet of papers.

"Hey, John," he said, looking embarrassed.

"Hey, Kellen. What's up?"

"Well, you said you'd help me in Bio, and I kind of need the help…"

"Yeah, come in." He gestured for the boy to come inside and told him to sit at his desk. Sean glanced up and grinned, setting down his homework as North stood behind Kellen, who was hunched over the paper.

"So I'm having issues with some of the cell stuff…"

North started walking through the specific structures of cells, pointing to pictures on the papers. His hand occasionally brushed Kellen's, letting it linger for a moment, smiling to himself when he didn't pull away right away. He'd been trying to get Kellen's attention for weeks, having been admiring his blue eyes and dark brown hair from the back of the classroom since September.

After about twenty minutes he was done explaining most of the basics and Kellen tilted his head back to smile at him. "I think I sort of get it now. Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. Anytime." North stepped back to allow Kellen to get out from under the desk, practically stepping on Sean, who had apparently been standing just behind them, watching for some reason. Kellen turned a light shade of pink when he caught Sean's eye, and they nodded at each other.

"I should get going. Thanks again." Kellen reached out and lightly brushed his fingers against North's forearm, and the two of them quickly smiled at each other.

"You guys can totally make out if you want, I'll just leave," Sean said, laughing as Kellen paled, dropping his hand.

"I'm not _gay_," he sputtered, shaking his head. North opened his mouth to say something but Sean just laughed harder.

"I don't _care_, it's really fine," he said, wiping away a tear. "It's so obvious, come _on_."

"Sean—"

"Dude, your roommate is a _dick_," Kellen muttered, heading for the door.

"At least I'm honest enough to get _laid_," Sean called out as the door slammed shut. "Eh, his loss, right?" he said with a wink to North, who was glaring at him hard enough to melt him into a puddle.

"What the _fuck_, Sean?!"

"What? I did you a favor—he was so closeted, Prince Caspian stood a better chance than you."

"_What_?"

"Prince Caspian, from Narnia? You know, closet?" Sean sighed. "Wow, really?"

North couldn't even see straight, he was so angry. After sputtering for another minute, he grabbed a textbook and ran out into the hallway, ignoring Sean shouting after him to go find Kellen before the Jesus lion ate him.

* * *

_December, 2002_

"So, are you going home for the holidays?" Sean asked, standing behind North as he worked on some practice problems for his Calculus final.

"No, I'm staying. My best friend is going to visit for a week before going home to see his parents. He goes to school out in California." North shifted in his chair, pushing his paper an inch up the desk to get more light since Sean was blocking the overhead light.

"Oh, that's cool. I'm gonna stay. Don't really want to deal with my dad, ex-Air Force guy and all that, kind of a dick."

"That's nice and all, but I've got to study," North said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Sean sat down on North's bed, humming to himself as he kicked the floorboards. After a minute North looked up and Sean stopped, grinning. "Sorry, I'm bored."

"Go be bored somewhere else."

"Aw, come on! We never hang out."

"Because you're _annoying_."

Sean pouted as he got off the bed and started messing around with his shelf of textbooks, pulling one down to toss on his own desk. "_Fine_, I guess I'll just _study_ like _boring old John_," he muttered, just loudly enough to be heard on purpose.

"Fuck _off_."

"What's up_ your_ ass?"

"I need to _study_."

"_God_, you're boring."

"At least I _respect_ boundaries, unlike_ some_ people."

Sean laughed and North craned his head around to glare at him. "Are you _still_ pissed about the girl? That was _two months_ ago! Or are you still mad about that Bio guy?"

"His name is _Kellen_, and it's not just that—I didn't need to see your—" North blushed and turned back to his paper.

"My what?"

"_You_ know."

"My _penis_?" Sean teased, walking back over to him. "You can't even say it, can you? Are you _that_ embarrassed? Dude, you have one too."

"I don't wave _mine_ around for everyone to _see_!"

"It was an _accident_! What, do you _want_ me now or something? You liked what you saw?"

North slammed down his pencil and stood up abruptly, shoving his chair out from underneath him with the backs of his knees, turning around to shove Sean away. "I don't _want_ you, you asshole!" he shouted. Sean's eyes widened and he caught his balance. "Just leave me _alone_!"

"_Fine_!" Sean shouted back. "I'll just go crash in Justin's room over the break! You can have the fucking room to _yourself_, you boring, uptight, selfish _dick_!" He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him as North sat back down, unsure whether to feel angry or slightly happy from the temporary reprieve from his horrible roommate.

* * *

"Dude, we should _totally_ mess with him."

"Mess with him?" North frowned, twirling the edge of the sheet between his fingers. "What do you mean?"

"Like a _prank_, you idiot." He heard Wash sigh over the phone. "Now, just let me think for a minute…oh my god, I've got an idea."

"What is it?" North drew his legs up onto the bed, listening excitedly.

"Do you know where he keeps his homework?"

"Yeah, in his notebook. Why?"

"Is it in the room right now?"

North glanced over to Sean's table, seeing the navy blue notebook right on top of a stack of textbooks. "Yeah."

"Okay. Then listen carefully…"

* * *

"**_I am going to kill you_****!"**

North looked up from his book to see Sean hovering over him, seething, almost glowing red with anger. "Can I help you?"

"_What the fuck were you thinking_?" He threw a packet of paper down on North's lap and he looked down at it, seeing a giant red '0' and a question mark on the front.

"I was thinking it was time for payback."

"This isn't _funny_, I just fucking _failed my final_!"

"Calm down, I'm sure the teacher thought it was funny."

Wash had convinced North to swap out Sean's final essay for his English class with the script to one of their favorite TV show episodes. Apparently the prank had done a little _too_ well.

"_I'm going to fucking kill you in your sleep_!" Sean screamed.

North sat up and backed up against the wall. "Dude, calm _down_, I'll talk to your teacher or something—"

"I can't fucking _take this anymore_!" Sean stomped over to his side of the room and grabbed an empty duffel bag from underneath the bed, reaching towards a pile of clothes on the floor. He stuffed a handful of shirts in the back and shoved a few more things inside, zipping it angrily.

"What are you doing?!"

"Getting the fuck away from _you_," Sean snapped, tossing the bag over his shoulder. "I can't live with a stuck up, neat-freak _dickhead_ who fucks over my _classes_ just because _I_ get laid and _you can't_!"

North scrambled to his feet and lunged forward, managing to smash into Sean's chest with his shoulder in an attempt to push him over, but failed. The two of them fell onto Sean's bed and started wrestling, but North got him in a headlock and managed to flip him onto his back, sitting on top of him. Sean's arms and legs were pinned but he continued flailing, getting one arm free and catching North's chin with a fist. North toppled over and fell to the floor as Sean got up, grabbing his bag again.

"Fuck _you_, you asshole!" North yelled, rubbing his chin.

"_I'm_ the asshole? _You fucked over my grade_!" Sean yelled back.

"It was a _joke_!"

"I've got a joke for _you_—you're gonna _die alone_! _Ha ha ha_!" He slammed the door behind him and North glared after him, nearly boring a hole in the wood with his eyes.

* * *

_March, 2003_

"So how was your spring break?"

North had been trying to get Sean to talk to him the entire morning, but had no luck. He kept reading his book or messing around with the TV, trying to find channels in the static since the cable had been on the fritz since they'd gotten back to the dorms.

Since Christmas break, the two of them had barely said a word to each other. They came and went without telling each other when they'd be back or where they were going. Sean occasionally had girls over but North didn't bother asking them to leave; he got used to just grabbing a book and going to go waste time in the common room downstairs. Luckily their classes were mostly opposite each other, so they barely spent any time in the room together.

Sean remained silent, staring at the wall, tapping his fingers on his knees.

"Yeah, mine was pretty good. I got to hang out with my friends; we went to the mountains and camped for most of the week."

The silence grew more uncomfortable.

"Come on, we need to at least clear the air. I've apologized for the paper _enough_. The teacher gave you a 'C' on the real one, right? You passed?"

Sean finally moved, leveling a horrendous glare at him.

"Fine. _Whatever_. I'll let you stay angry at me. At least I _tried_."

"Like I'm supposed to just forgive you?"

"Oh, shit, you _can_ talk."

"You know _what_?" Sean slid off the bed, putting his arms on his hips. "I'm _allowed_ to be pissed off at you. You know why? You _fucked over my grade_ just because you saw me naked. Where's the fucking justice in _that_?"

"It wasn't just that you were trying to have sex _while I was in the room_, you also cockblocked me with Kellen!"

"Dude, he was _never_ going to go for you!"

"That doesn't _matter_! It's the _principle_ of the thing!"

Sean sighed and sat back down on the bed, folding his hands in his lap. "I'm so _tired_ of _fighting_. I don't have the _energy_ for this anymore."

"Me neither." North sat down on his own bed, staring over at Sean. "Can we just, I don't know, call a truce or something?"

"Yeah, fine." He reached up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "A truce. That's good."

"So we're good? We'll start talking again?"

"Sure, why not?"

"That's great, because there's this _really_ hot girl in my organic chemistry class that I think is into me and I need a wingman."

Sean frowned. "Wait…_what_? I thought you were—"

"I can appreciate all forms of gender," North cut him off, rolling his eyes. He watched as Sean stared at him for a moment, as though contemplating something, and shrugged.

"I've got nothing better to do. Tell me about her."

North grinned and stood up, going over to Sean's bed to sit down next to him, their knees touching as he settled in. "So, she's really tall and has this _gorgeous_ black hair…"


	4. Chapter 4

** What happens in the cheese aisle…apparently doesn't stay there**

"Son of a bitch, I _really_ hate grocery shopping," North muttered, standing in front of the fancy cheese selection at the grocery store. There were easily a million different kinds of cheese and he had zero idea where to start, other than Dakota telling him to get "the fancy kind" which really left him clueless. "Fancy kind…these are _all_ fancy kinds…"

"Need help?" someone asked to his left, and he turned, met with an immediate eyeful of a man's jaw, a few inches taller than himself. His eyes traveled up and met with the stoic face of a young man seemingly about his own age, bald and staring down at him.

"Uh…I guess. My friend wanted fancy cheese for a party and I have no idea what to get."

North watched the man's face as he appeared to think for a moment, then followed his arm as it reached for a small brick of white cheese near the back of the case. "Try this," he said. His voice was deep, almost a growl, and North smiled, taking it from him.

"Thanks, that's really nice of you."

"No problem."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, and North finally patted the side of his basket. "Well, I better get going, I suppose."

The other man opened his mouth as though to say something, but seemed to change his mind. "Yeah. Me too." Without another word he walked off, shouldering his way through a few people blocking the other side of the aisle. North shrugged and walked off towards the bread, trying to remember what kind he usually bought.

About fifteen minutes later he was standing in the deli section, choosing a roll of salami. He picked one up and inspected it briefly, then stuck it in his basket. He felt the basket shift and looked over to see the tall man from earlier taking the cheese out of his basket.

"Hey, what the hell?" North said, grabbing for it. He held it up over his head, frowning.

"You didn't say you were pairing it with salami."

"Well, what difference does that make?! Give it back!"

"I can't let you do that."

"You're not—what the hell, man?"

"Trust me." The man started walking back towards the cheese section and North growled, stalking after him. He waited, arms crossed over his chest, basket on the ground, while the man picked out a different kind of cheese, offering it to North.

"Okay?"

"This will be better."

"I liked the other one."

"You hadn't tasted it," he argued.

"Doesn't matter! I liked how it looked!" North retorted.

"That's a terrible argument."

"I don't care!"

He watched as the man sighed and shook his head. "Just take the cheese."

"No! I'm going to get the first one."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"_Hurt_ me? Over cheese. Really."

"I could break your arm pretty convincingly."

"_Whoa_, who pissed in _your_ cereal this morning?" North said, arching an eyebrow.

Turning pink in his cheeks, the man glanced away. "Sorry."

"That was just…_wow_, man."

"Sorry," he repeated, and quickly turned, rushing away. He disappeared past a small crowd of people as North rolled his eyes. He reached for the original block of cheese, but as he held it in his hand, he smiled and set it back down, picking up the second one instead, tucking it carefully in his basket.

(b)

"Thanks, and have a nice day!"

"You too!" North said, grabbing his four bags of groceries. He managed to get a better grip on them as he walked and left the store, heading for his car. As he approached and hit the alarm button on his keys to unlock the car, he noticed the angry cheese guy loading a few bags into the back of a white car a few spaces away. Setting the bags in his trunk, he closed it and hit the alarm button, walking over to the guy.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right?" North said, patting the man on the arm. He jumped and whirled around, still looking angry. His features softened when he saw that it was North.

"Sure," he agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sorry I overreacted. Had a long day."

"I understand."

"So…have a good day," he said, cracking a small smile.

"You too, man." North started back to his car, feeling a little better.

"Maine!"

"Huh?" North turned to see the man waving at him, the smile a little wider.

"My name is Maine," he called out.

"Oh!" He walked back to Maine, sticking out his hand. "I'm North," he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, North."

"You too, Maine."

They held hands slightly longer than was necessary and North dropped it finally, grinning. "You wanna get dinner sometime, Maine?"

"Friday?"

"Sure. Here." North reached into his pocket and grabbed his grocery receipt. "Got a pen?"

"Hang on." Maine went around to the driver's side door and opened it, leaning inside. He emerged a second later holding a pen, and handed it to North, who scribbled his phone number on the back of the receipt. He gave it to Maine, along with the pen, and smiled.

"Call me on Friday and we'll figure out a place to meet up," he said.

"Sounds great." The smile on Maine's face seemed genuine, and it was infectious.

"Talk to you later!" North waved and headed back to his car, climbing inside. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot, glancing back towards Maine, who was still standing outside his car, staring down at the receipt.

It'd been _way_ too long since North had been on a proper date. He chuckled and pressed down on the gas pedal, driving out of the parking lot.


End file.
